Three days later, I was home.
Brian had driven me to my parents' townhouse that morning to collect my things. Watson yowled from his carrier in the backseat the entire drive to Queens, voicing his displeasure at being relocated twice in the span of a few weeks. Brian just laughed and turned up the radio.
Our apartment looked exactly the same, like no time had passed at all.
Kevin Lang had been arrested. Arson. Attempted murder. Assault with a deadly weapon. His lawyer tried for a plea deal, but the DA wasn't interested.
Richard Lang's trial date was set. Sloane Harper's articles had gone national. The corrupt councilman and his murderous son were everywhere.
I didn't feel brave. I felt tired, sore, and grateful to be alive.
But I also felt something I hadn't felt in a long time.
Peace.
Brian came out of the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. He handed me a mug and settled onto the couch beside me. We sat in easy silence, watching afternoon light shift across the room.
"I've been thinking," Brian said.
"Dangerous."
He smiled. "About us. About what comes next."
"What comes next?"
He set his coffee down. "I don't want to go back to the way things were. I don't want to waste any more time being afraid."
"Neither do I."
"Good." He took my hand. "Because I have plans for us, Ava Rothwell. Plans. Real Ones."
"Is that so?"
"That's so." He kissed my knuckles. "But first—dinner. My grandmother's chili."
"You're going to add too much cumin again."
"It's not too much. It's the perfect amount."
"Your abuela would tell you to follow the recipe."
"My abuela never followed a recipe in her life." He pulled me to my feet. "Come supervise. Make sure I don't burn the apartment down."
"Too soon."
"Way too soon." But he was grinning, and so was I.
The late afternoon sun streamed through the windows. Brian started pulling ingredients from cabinets, humming under his breath. I leaned against the counter and watched him.
This was what I'd almost lost. What I'd almost thrown away because I was scared.
Not again. Never.
"Hey," I said.
Brian looked up. "Yeah?"
"I love you."
